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German Universities Tap Novell for Infrastructure Needs

Forty percent of German university students now have access to Linux and management solutions from Novell

WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Novell today announced that
state universities across the Federal State of North Rhine Westphalia in
Germany have selected Novell for their critical IT infrastructure systems.
The agreement will give 560,000 students and employees across 33
universities access to key enterprise management and Linux* services from
Novell, including SUSE(R) Linux Enterprise Desktop. As a result, the
universities of North Rhine Westphalia gain a powerful, yet flexible new
infrastructure while benefiting from the lower costs and freedom of choice
of Linux. Novell's offerings help the state universities of North Rhine
Westphalia realize high cost savings, while at the same time benefiting
from increased security and flexibility.

Educational institutes are facing many challenges today. The growing
number of students, the increasing demand for real-time information, and
tight budgets demand a scalable, flexible and cost-efficient IT
infrastructure. At the same time, universities want to avoid vendor
lock-in. After a comprehensive assessment, the universities of North Rhine
Westphalia decided to leverage Novell(R) technology across the federal
state. Novell was selected as a partner for its ideal combination of
state-of-the-art technology, understanding of educational needs, and strong
value. The decision-making process was coordinated by the leadership of
Heinrich-Heine-University Dusseldorf.

Novell is working closely with each of the universities of North Rhine
Westphalia to customize solutions to meet their individual needs. The
comprehensive deal covers a wide range of Linux and enterprise management
technologies from Novell, including SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, SUSE
Linux Enterprise Desktop, Novell Open Enterprise Server, Novell Identity
Manager and Novell ZENworks(R). To date, 10 universities have already
developed plans to implement Identity Manager to manage student, faculty
and employee identities. Thirteen universities will use Novell ZENworks to
manage their complex heterogeneous IT infrastructures, while nine
universities are implementing Novell GroupWise(R) for collaboration. On the
Linux front, 15 universities to date have committed to deploying SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop.

Novell and the universities of North Rhine Westphalia are promoting the
use of Linux desktops by allowing staff and students to use SUSE Linux
Enterprise Desktop 10 on their personal computers so they can test the
benefits of Linux. Other German state government entities are also tapping
Novell for infrastructure needs. Novell already has similar state-wide
agreements with universities in the Federal States of Thuringia and
Bavaria.

"We've had great success in the German university system, already
supporting some 300,000 students in Bavaria and Thuringia with our
infrastructure solutions," said Volker Smid, president of Novell EMEA.
"With the addition of North Rhine Westphalia, more than 40 percent of all
university students in Germany will be using Novell software. This is great
validation of the powerful advantages open source can bring to large
organizations."

Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers infrastructure software for the
Open Enterprise. Novell is a leader in enterprise-wide operating systems
based on Linux and open source and provides the enterprise management
services required to operate mixed IT environments. Novell helps customers
minimize cost, complexity and risk, allowing them to focus on innovation
and growth. For more information, visit http://www.novell.com.

Novell, GroupWise, SUSE and ZENworks are registered trademarks of
Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. *Linux is a
registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other third-party trademarks
are the property of their respective owners.